SINGAPORE: Electricity supply to some areas in central Singapore was disrupted on Thursday afternoon (Feb 14).
Blackouts were reported at Bras Basah Complex, Odeon Towers and several MRT stations at around 1.30pm.
Mr Ho Shao Dong, who was at Bras Basah Complex, said it appeared that the whole building experienced a blackout.
Ms Vera Ang, who works at Wilby Central along Queen Street said that the lights in her office blacked out “for a second” and the Wi-Fi stopped working.
“A colleague who was at the coffee shop opposite the road said the same thing happened there. After that, we heard a lot of horns and sirens as fire trucks zoomed past,” she told Channel NewsAsia.
A commuter who wanted to be known only as Ms Ju said that there was a blackout at Boon Keng MRT station when she entered at about 1.25pm. She then took a train and reached Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, which was also experiencing a blackout, but the power gradually came back on.
A blackout at Boon Keng MRT at about 1.25pm on Feb 14, 2019. (Photos: Ms Ju)
“Announcements were made at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station for commuters to use the stopped escalators as stairs as there was a minor power trip,” she said.
“They also apologised for the inconvenience.”
SBS Transit said that seven stations on the North-East Line – HarbourFront, Outram Park, Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Dhoby Ghaut, Boon Keng and Potong Pasir – were affected.
“This was due to a dip in the power grid network. Emergency lights were turned on during this period which lasted less than 25 minutes,” said Ms Tammy Tan, senior vice-president of corporate communications at SBS Transit.
“Train services were not affected by the power outage.”
A blackout at Dhoby Ghaut MRT at about 1.27pm on Feb 14, 2019. (Photo: Ms Cheng)
SP Group said that its officers were immediately deployed to the affected areas.
“Our priority is to restore supply as safely and quickly as possible. Supply has been restored to most of these locations,” it said in an update on Facebook at about 2.30pm.
“We are investigating the cause of the incident.”
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) also said it responded to a fire incident at the Carlton Hotel at around the same time as the blackouts.
It is not clear if the incidents are linked.
The hotel said that there was a fire in the switch room which was extinguished by SCDF. Close to 1,000 people, including hotel guests and visitors, were affected.
This story is developing. Refresh for updates.
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